Welcome to Cooper's blog! Cooper is an extraordinary little boy who entered this world at 31 weeks in November 2009. It has been our daily joy to watch him grow every day. He has Autism, Apraxia, Sensory Processing Disorder, and Hypotonia but doesn't let any of that stop him from being SUPER COOPER!!

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

I'm about to show my age but I started driving and dating BEFORE cellphones were a common item that everyone owned. My mom always told me to make sure that I had quarters in my wallet so that I could call from a payphone...Now, as a mom (and, feeling very old at the moment!) having quarters in my wallet means an entirely different thing all together...

Now, quarters are popped into these sidewalk rides for little ones. I thought it would be funny to take a pic of Cooper in all the little rides that he got to enjoy in the span of one afternoon.

Coop and everyone's favorite big red dog, Clifford

Big scary monkey...Cooper was a little wary and rightfully so...We're still learning to pay attention when we're driving, lol...

Cooper in the bat mobile which was his favorite of the day!

It's these small occurences that make being a mommy so much fun! I'm going to quarter myself to death but it's worth, I think :)

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Cooper is quite the daredevil these days. You walk a thin line as a mommy, especially when your child is special needs, between wanting them to explore their environment and keeping them safe as possible. Oh, my sweet Cooper, such an adventrous spirit but his legs just can't keep up with him. I feel like there is a new bruise everyday and all I say is "be careful" all day!

I like his strong willed spirit (and, have zero intentions of trying to change it) so I've been taking him to a local bounce house so that he can work out some of this extra energy! The added plus is that he's less likely to give himself a concussion in this place...

Yeah, he just throws himself over everything and anything these days, lol...boys will be boys!

Monday, May 23, 2011

As it turns out, I don't miss facebook but I MUST blog! I haven't missed facebook at all but I kept thinking "oh, this is going to be a good blog post" every time I took a pic this weekend! So, no blog vacation for me...just too many things to drop cold turkey, I guess :)

So, the weather has been in the 90's here in Georgia so the pool has just been a godsend! We start swim lessons on June 20th so the pool should become even more fun!

Thursday, May 19, 2011

I've decided to take an internet vacation! Really, I spend way too much time on the internet so I'm taking a break from the blogs and wait for it....closing my facebook account! Eh, I've been wanting to do that for awhile, actually!

So, I'll be gone from bloggingland for awhile but I don't know the length of *awhile* so I will see ya when I see ya. Thank you for all of your support and you know, I'll, or I should say, we'll, be back!

It's rare that I vent about life. I'm definitely a glass half-full kinda person and I really don't let much get me down. Today, I feel like unloading!

First, it's starting to get on my nerves that people are assuming that Cooper is somehow mentally retarded and that's why he can't walk. Really? My mom went out to visit her family in another state last month and some of these family members are on my fb. While she was there some of them were insinuating that Cooper must have some sort of mental retardation or cerebal palsy or something along those lines. I don't think I have to tell the group reading my blog that if he did have those diagnosises that I WOULD STILL LOVE HIM UNCONDITIONALLY. It's just starting to piss me off when people see that he can't walk and their next question is "how is he cognitively?" and, I'm giving you the nice version of the question that I was asked recently. Why is it that his intelligence must be lower because he can't walk...

Second, advice like "well, my cousin's/my next door neighbor's grandchild/or whoever, didn't walk until they were 17 months" Well meaning, I know, but people don't seem to understand the difference between not being able to STAND and some kid that just couldn't take some steps by themselves. He can't stand alone and he can only stand at the coffee table for minutes at a time BUT those steps are huge for us! Since I'm venting and beware because this is going to sound really, really witchie...I rarely get excited when people talk about their kids first steps because kids are supposed to walk! That's why they have legs! Yes, I know this is milestone envy but like I said, I'm just unloading what I've been carrying around for awhile...

Third, nothing compares to watching your child struggle through something day in and day out. It's emotionally exhausting. Birthday parties hurt. MOPs meetings hurt. The church nursery hurts. Seeing kids his age running across the room hurts. Don't tell me you know how I feel because a sibling/cousin/neice/nephew went through something similar because NOTHING compares to watching YOUR CHILD miss out on things. NOTHING. Don't be condascending with me and your 'sort of' comparative stories. I get these *well-meaning* stories all the time and the next time that I get one, I will smile and say "thank you" but right now on this blog, I just want to scream SHUT THE HELL UP!

Finally, I know that our situation pales in comparsion to those families that are fighting cancer or some other life threantening disease. I thank God everyday that he's healthy otherwise, minus normal preemie stuff like a PDA and a PFO. I cry every time I leave the children's hospital because I've seen the kids on strechers with IV's and no hair. I'm almost crying now because we just came from there this morning. I only have a glimpse into their pain. With that being said, I'm still entitled to hurt, too. I don't need people to give me *advice* that things could always be worse.

Okay, I think I've unloaded enough. If you've made any of these comments to me and you're reading this blog, just know that this is not some passive aggressive swipe! I'm releasing the bad energy from my mind so that I can be the very best mommy to Cooper which is my ONLY concern.

Sunday, May 15, 2011

I've been attending a mom's bible study class and we had our end of the year picnic on Tuesday. We had never been to this park and it was amazing! It's right by our church so I forsee a lot of after church picnics in our future!

Someone was not pleased that I would rather take a picture than open the bag of potato chips!

Cooper loves to swing! Would you just look at that sweet smile?

Coop would not look at the camera because he was way more focused on a group of kids playing! The necklace that I'm wearing is the one that he gave me for mother's day. He loves to chew on it which is leading to the purchase of an amber teething necklace!

OH, how I love Athens and UGA, my aluma mater, so we decided to make the quick drive up for a few hours. It was a quick trip so that my hubby could get his Lily tattoo touched up but lucky for us, there was a little festival going on, too!

Family lunch at the Grill. I laugh because back in the day, I had a lot of meals here at 12 AM but now I only eat there during respectable hours, lol..

I also didn't know that this restaurant had highchairs until I became a mom!

Saturday, May 7, 2011

I laugh at how different our Friday nights have been since finding out about Cooper on April 23, 2010. Seriously, the previous Friday to finding out about being pregnant again, was spent in a wine bar! Oh, how life has changed...for the better!

Last night, we went to dinner in our town's market village and then had a walk around the pond. I had so much fun! His smiles make every change in our lives totally worth it!

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

It must be nice to be a baby! Literally, the walk started at 9:03 AM and he was sleeping by 9:05 AM...he slept the first hour of the walk and then just enjoyed the sights and sounds for the rest of the walk :)

Monday, May 2, 2011

I've been so lazy the last fews day but I'm finally getting my post done about the walk on Saturday! The weather was amazing and the extra exercising that I've done the last few months made the walk much more enjoyable :)

Right before the walk started...

I carried this sign for 5 miles...

then, carried my niece on my back for the last half mile...

Thank you again to those that donated and helped make Team Angeline so succesful! Our team total ended up being $2424 and then the hospital that Cooper was born at matches our total so it ends up being $4848!